Phil

This thread has to be the best read on any forum anywhere at present!!

I think the reason that Ford and Holden arent selling as many cars to their traditional market is that they have forgotten who their traditional market is...there will always be diehard fans, but who in their right mind pulls almost all sponsorship from the V8 Supercar teams that run their brand!! If it wasnt for that...Lowndes would still be a Ford pilot!!

I agree, Ford has lost the plot. I think it is like a lot of large corporations out there these days, it is the bean counters running the show and not the CEO. There is a lack of ambition, direction and funding in there products, advertising and motorsport support. I remember the good days when Ford had cars in formula 1, rallying, supercars and anything they could get into. They also made products that customers wanted because they listened to there customers, rather than telling them what they want (Ford america trying to force the Taurus upon the Australian market again, to save themselves some pennies). 
They need to get back to their roots and make cars that people will desire and get passionate about. All your Asian manufacturers have proven that any idiot can make a great A to B (Snore) car and frankly they can keep it, Ford needs to make more cars for enthusiasts and boast about them at any given chance. 

trouble for ford is " the roots" are the minority. just a fact of life ( albeit an unfortunate one ) . People screamed for Ford to make a car deserving of the GT badge and quicker in a straight line than the HSV/holden counterparts. So, finally we have that car, and are people buying it?......look at the focus RS. When it was released a truckload of people screamed beacause it wasnt being released here and that they would buy one if it was released here , being that they were "enthusuasts, purists" of car driving dynamics. So finally we got them here in limited number and even though ford was saying they all sold out there were at least 3 brand new ones sitting in showrooms in Wollongong/newcastle 6 months after they "sold out" .who knows how many more there were that werent "sold out". Dosent matter what they build people will find a reason not to buy it, after they swore they would.  I dont know how many people Ive read on forums in the last 2 years complaining that theres no XR8 and, if there was they would buy 1 in a heartbeat.  The reason there is no XR8?... 'cause nobody was buying them. The reason there are no basic cars with throttle cables, simple suspensions  and no electronics?......'cause nobody will buy them ( save for 4 or 5 on this forum!!!!  ;-)    )